muwahahahahahah! chapter 1! well, chapter 2 i guess, but who cares? well now, lets get on to the reviews so you can read the chapter! this is going to include the reveiws for the epilouge of 2 Fallen Gods and a Guardian Angel since i forgot to add them to the prolouge...
Auron's Fan- Yes, the part with the president was funny. but, hey, matt, ryan, and andy are very straight forward and blunt when they're annoyed. as for andy, he's got some... problems this time around. if you want an idea of what i mean go read the full summary for 2 Fallen Gods, i believe i mention something about it in there. and, yes, auron is on earth despite the fact that he was sent. that'll be explained later on too. along with why i had to hurt andy. and yes, the prolouge was long. very long. i think it was 32 pages... none of my chapters are gonna be under 30 pages this time 'round. oh, and THANK YOU! finally someone noticed that i screwed up with the gods names. only vena came out right ;P i typed the english words into the al bhed box of my translator and then took the english translation of the word. when i realized it, it was too late to change the names. i was debating whether or not to say anything, but i figured i'd wait and see how long it took someone to notice. so yeah, Usi what you get if you use ice as an al bhed word. the real names should've been Selraym (Lusniec; Michael), Ela (Usi; ice), Fydan (Zedih; water), andDrihtan (Dnortih; thunder). and yes, the ice goddess is a girl. and yes, she kicks ass (wait till you see her at the end of the chapter). and i will review your story, i just really wanted to get this chapter up.
Liina-chan- wow... your dad had to kick you off 'cause of 2 Fallen Gods? and then you started to read when you woke up again? that's a compliment, thank you. and yes, i didn't want ryan andy or matt to know about spira. too many stories do that. and yes, the ice goddess is... well, a girl. and she fights in the end of the chapter. i think you'll all be impressed.
Sephirothxx- yeah, the epilouge had a lot of fighting in it, didn't it? and as for mr. riles, well, you know. as for auron getting to earth, that'll be explained at the end of this book. and yes, ryan doesn't kill anyone unless he has to. and yes, we had to find someone to replace you. and, as for me having plans for nick, i have one thing to say to you: possibly.
Lightning Wizard- yeah, the school scene was fun to write, but the group likes to go 'invisible' remember? besides, knowing the police around here, they'd have been arrested if they'd stuck around. yeah, ryan and matt made modifications to their weapons. but most of the gear's going to be lost throughout the story, so don't get too attached to it. some stuff will stay tho. and don't worry, Return of the Gods should be every bit as good as 2 Fallen Gods, maybe even better.
BOrn-Slippy- hate to say it, but you're the only one that mentioned the epilouge being hard to follow. and yeah, i know you like my story so don't worry 'bout it. and don't worry, ryan gets... humbled,i think that'd be a good word for it... yes, humbled, in this chapter. as for andy, he'll be there, just wait. he's got a rather... special part to play in book 2. and no, it doesn't have the makings of a great trilogy because there's FOUR books instead of three. it's got the makings of a great series. but the fact that you think its got the makings to be great is still kool, so thank you.
Da Ker MysTeRr- yep, book 2 is here! and yes, lusniec is a gay psychopath that's pretty kool aside from being a gay psychopath. and thank you, people don't believe that i write well.
labrat-seph- wow, being able to predict books does suck. glad to know i'm not alone. comes with writing a lot tho... and yes, andy WILL be back in spira. he's got the most important role in the plot, it would litteraly fall to pieces without him. how, you may ask? well, if you figure it out put it in a review and i'll tell you your wrong so it won't ruin the story for you! but it's discovered pretty early anyway. when that happens everyone will understand why he isn't in the story yet.
Shadow Beastl- thank you, i'm glad you think my story's excellent.
Plum-chan- andy'll be in spira eventually. and as for sakura actually speaking english in spira, that comes up in this chapter for a few seconds.
and that's all, so lets read and reveiw people!
Reunion
"We're back." Ryan's voice was filled with a disbelieving note. "I can't believe it. We shouldn't have been here for another year." Matt nodded in agreement and then looked around to make sure that no fiends were sneaking up on them. It'd been two hours since they'd passed through the portal, but Nick and Sakura were still lying on the ground unconscious.
"Good thing I gave them blankets." The sound of snow crunching, just barely loud enough for them to hear, alerted the two to someone trying to sneak up on them. "Wonder where all the fiends are." Matt's question covered the sound of him and Ryan standing up. "Normally we'd have had seven or eight battles by now."
"Good question." Ryan admitted as he drew Wind Cutter, sheath and all, out of its holder. They scanned the area while continuing to talk as if nothing was wrong. A bit of snow dropped down onto Matt he spun around. There was a snap and some wood went flying past his face.
'Wood? Did Gagazet get new fiends on it? Or was that man-made?' His lone of thought was broken when Ryan burst into laughter. "What's so funny?"
"Lil' boy blue! Oh my god, I never thought I'd see you again!" Ryan said as he put Wind Cutter back in its holder. "How've things been these past two years?"
"Kimahri not know sphere hunters. Leave sacred mountain or Kimahri make leave." The proud Ronso warrior ordered.
"Hey, its us! Matt and Ryan!" Kimahri started to growl at them.
"Hey Matt. Just a thought, but old blue might not recognize us after two years. And don't forget, Andy was supposed to come, but he disappeared, remember?" Matt felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. "But it looks like he's a smart as ever, that's for sure."
"Meaning what?" Matt asked as he ducked under a kick.
"We're surrounded by Ronso warriors."
"Damn it! Lil' boy blue, what the hell are you doing?" Kimahri snarled and shot a wave of fire out of his breath. Matt rolled out of the way, but lost his footing as the snow melted into water. 'Not good.' Matt grabbed one of Kimahri's clawed feet and pulled it out from under him. The two went sliding down the slope in a jumble of blue fur, claws, fists, teeth, roars, and grunts of pain. When they stopped Matt rolled away from his ferocious friend and found more then a few rivers of blood running down his arms and legs. "Shit, you're really serious about this aren't you blue."
"Kimahri will defend Kimahri's home!" Kimahri took a deep breath and prepared to use another of his special attacks, but a scream from Sakura halted the fight.
"Damn it!" Matt yelled as he sprinted past Kimahri. Two Ronso warriors came flying through the air and landed behind him with thuds of pain. "Ryan! What the hell are you… Sakura!" The girl was pinned down by three of the largest Ronso Matt had ever seen while Ryan stood much calmer then he should have from a distance.
"Move and girl dies!" The Ronso leaning on Sakura's shoulders flexed his clawed fingers and gave the thunder god a fang-filled grin.
'Geez Kimahri, ready for an all out war or something?' Matt wondered as he set Lightning Edge down slowly. "Ok big guy, just calm down. Don't do anything hasty now."
"Matt-san." Sakura whispered as tears started to gather in her eyes.
Matt swallowed, knowing that sooner or later either Ryan or himself was going to have to do something. He glanced over at Ryan and found his friend's attention wavering. 'What a time to be daydreaming.'
Apparently one of the Ronso agreed since she stepped forward and punched him in the face. Ryan's head snapped to the side and a few drops of blood hit the snow. "Pay attention. Kimahri tribe elder. Kimahri will decided fate now."
"Wonderful." Ryan said with a laugh and Matt found himself wondering why his friend would be drawing so much bad attention during such a situation. Then it hit him.
Nick. Since so much attention had been focused on Sakura, the teen had snuck away. But what was he doing? 'Come on Nick. We need something amazing.'
An explosion sounded through the mountain. "Avalanche!" one of the Ronso yelled. All eyes on the mountain followed the Ronso's finger to a wave of snow rolling down towards them. The Ronso exploded into motion, and were far away from the three teens in the blink of an eye. Except for one. Kimahri came bounding across the snow in a few strides, scooped up Sakura, who had passed out at the sight of an avalanche, and turned to head back.
"Elder Kimahri!" one of the younger looking Ronso tried to head back but was held back by an older Ronso who had a sad look on his face. "Elder Kimahri, look out!" The snow beneath Kimahri's foot slipped away and the he threw Sakura's body up towards his fellow Ronso even as he slipped off the face of the mountain. The Ronso howled in horror as Kimahri disappeared over the edge of their sacred mountain.
"Ryan!" Matt yelled as he grabbed all their bags and threw up a dome of thunder. Snow melted away as it washed over him. 'Man, it's going to suck getting out of this.'
Ryan went over the cliff with his wings already halfway out. "Kimahri! Hang on!" Feather floated gently in the air behind him as he plummeted towards the falling Ronso with both hands outstretched. As he reached Kimahri he smiled slightly at the amazed look on the Ronso's face, but quickly grabbed one of his arms. "Hang on!" Kimahri nodded as Ryan flew away from the wall and the avalanche.
888
'Too cold.' Matt thought as he sat in his dome of electricity, waiting for someone to come and dig him out. It'd already been five minutes. "Screw this." His shield shrunk until it was just barely big enough to go around him. "Hope nobody's above me!" The lightning shot straight up, melting snow in its path. Matt looked up and sighed. "Great, it's at least ten feet."
A rope dropped down the hole. "Hey, thanks for the signal. What kept you from doing that earlier?" Nick asked from somewhere outside of Matt's limited view. Matt shook his head as he pulled himself up. When he reached the top he found that both he and Nick were in a ring of angry looking Ronso. "Like I said, what kept you from doing that earlier?"
"If I had known you had made so many friend's I'd have come to the party earlier." Matt shrugged. "Sorry."
"Just tell them that we aren't here to fight." Nick said in Japanese.
"You just blew up their leader." Matt replied in Japanese as well. "There isn't going to be much talking."
"Humans kill Kimahri! Ronso avenge Elder Kimahri! Ronso kill humans!" A trickle of sweat started down Matt's neck again, and his worries multiplied when a Ronso stepped forward with an unconscious Sakura. "Why you protect human from Ronso?" One of them demanded of the Ronso who was now walking towards Matt and Nick. "They kill Elder Kimahri. Ronso must avenge death of Elder Kimahri!"
"Elder Kimahri save this human instead of himself. Ronso will not hurt girl!" The Ronso who had formed a circle around the humans roared at the lone Ronso who was standing in front of Matt. "Take human."
"Well at least you've still got your honor." Matt said just loud enough for the rest of the Ronso to hear. "Unlike the rest of your friends." The comment caused one of the smaller Ronso, although he still stood more then two feet taller then Matt, charge in a blind rage. It went to punch Matt but the thunder god spun on his left foot. As the Ronso flew past him Matt slammed it in the back of the head, and it fell to the ground unconscious. The Ronso who had formed a circle around him just stared in surprise. "Any other takers?"
The ring of Ronso roared in anger and began to tighten around the group. "You really just had to ask, didn't you? I would have liked to have seen some of the girls from here while I was alive, you know?"
"Then come back as an unsent." Matt muttered as storm clouds started to form in the sky above them. "But for the moment, I suggest both of you get down." Nick said something but it was drown out by the sound of a thunderbolt slamming into the snow in front of him. "Like I said, get down." He turned slowly to take in the confused looks on the Ronso who had stopped advancing. "And I suggest all of you let us go without any more trouble."
"Yeah, because lightning bolts hurt. Especially when coming from the god of thunder." All eyes shot up and found Ryan and Kimahri above them. "And Matt, next time you form a thunder storm, form it around a small area. We nearly got hit by three bolts just trying to get back." Kimahri dropped down into the circle with Matt.
"Ronso halt! No kill humans, humans friends of Kimahri!" The Ronso ring dispersed as Ryan landed next to them. "Kimahri sorry. Friends say three years, but only been two."
"Yeah, we got a run of good luck. But, uh, what's with the war band?" Matt motioned to the Ronso who were lingering in case the humans decided to attack Kimahri. "Having some fiend problems?"
Kimahri nodded. "Yes. Fiends attack many Ronso who return badly hurt. Now Sphere Hunters pillage sacred mountain of Ronso for spheres and hurt Ronso who get in way."
"Sphere Hunters? You mean people who hunt these?" Ryan pulled out his sphere and Kimahri nodded.
"Sphere Hunters hunt old sphere. Say old spheres worth much gil. Say sacred mountain full of old Spheres." He pointed to the top of the mountain. "Say many spheres lay in ruins at top of mountain."
"So you're having problems with humans and fiends. Well at least I get why the Ronso attacked now." Matt looked down at the Ronso he'd knocked out when he moved. "Guess it's a good thing I held back."
"Oh yeah, what's with the title 'Elder', Kimahri?" The Ronso folded his arms across chest.
"Kimahri tribe Elder. Kimahri run tribe now." The two stared at him.
"That's great, Kimahri! I'm glad you found some more Ronso." Kimahri nodded and then motioned to Sakura and Nick.
"Kimahri not know."
"Oh yeah, sorry Lil' Boy Blue. That one, the one that caused the avalanche, is Nick. He likes to find… explosive… solutions to problems." Matt picked Sakura up gently. "And this is Sakura. She's the goddess of ice." Kimahri nodded again. "But at the moment, we're all cold and wet."
"Kimahri take friends to Ronso village."
"Guess we'll have to come back for the gear then." Ryan said as they started down the mountain towards the Ronso village.
888
Warmth was the first sensation that came to Sakura's mind as she started to wake up. The first realization she had was that her back was colder then the rest of her body. Slowly she began to realize other things, like the fact that she was lying on something that was hard, and dry.
She moaned and sat up slowly. "Where am I?"
"You're up. That's good." She looked to her left and found Matt sitting across from her, watching her over a fire. "We're at the Ronso camp."
"Ronso? What's a Ronso?"
"Those blue lions that you attacked earlier." Sakura's face paled. "Don't worry. We're not in any trouble, or danger. Hell, they even made us a tee-pee." He spread his hands out. Sakura looked around and finally understood why she wasn't being snowed on anymore. "And Ryan and I know the leader of this particular tribe. As long as you don't attack anymore Ronso," he smiled slightly, "we'll be fine."
"Where are Ryan-san, and Nick-san?"
"Ryan and Nick go with Ronso hunters. Bring back food and kill fiends." Kimahri told them as he walked in. Sakura paled slightly, but otherwise made no move to back away. "Friends agree to help Ronso protect mountain from fiends and Sphere Hunters."
"So they're gone then?" Kimahri nodded and Matt laid down. "That's good." Kimahri got up and left silently. "So how're you doing over there?"
"Fine." Matt looked at her and knew from her face that she was lying. "Decent." She paused for a few seconds. "Scared and miserable."
"What're you scared of? You haven't seen anything yet." She looked at him. "I'm not going to lie to you, Sakura-san. There's going to be stuff here that's a hundred times worse then anything you've ever seen before."
"Then how do you expect me to not be scared!" Matt propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her.
"Sakura, the most terrifying person in Spira is me." She looked at him oddly. "Actually, there's one other person, but he tends to not get involved unless it benefits him. At least that's the image he tries to keep up, but inside he's a decent guy. Wonder what he's up to." Sakura cleared her voice and Matt smiled. "Seph, the other guy, and myself are the scariest people in Spira. We're both gods, and we've both got a grip on our powers. You'll get there, but it's going to take awhile. And, while Ryan's scary at times," Sakura snorted in disbelief and Matt smiled as he continued, "he'll never have the chance to reach the same level the gods can when it comes to magic, and I'll always be as good as him physically. On top of all that he's getting in-between his friends and attacks that should kill him, but never seem to. So you see, you've got the strongest, fastest, deadliest, and scariest people in Spira as your allies. You and Nick haven't got a thing to fear."
"What have I gotten myself into?" Sakura moaned as she laid back down.
"Don't worry about it. We've beaten Yu Yevon without you before, we'll do it again."
"Then why the hell do I have to be here!" Sakura's hands clenched and unclenched. "If you don't need me, and you loved Spira so much, why didn't you just stay here!"
"Do you want to know the truth?" She glared at him and he sat up. "To say "we" beat him once before isn't entirely true. It was me and the fire god."
"What about Ryan? He was there, wasn't he?"
Matt smiled slightly. "He was dead." Her face paled. "Yu Yevon had two forms, but we didn't know it. After we destroyed his first form we thought the fight was over and we were getting ready to leave." He closed his eyes and remembered watching in horror as Yu Yevon snapped Ryan's neck. "That's when it happened, the one time that Ryan didn't survive. Yu Yevon's true form just appeared out of thin air, grabbed him by the back of the neck and squeezed. Inside Sin, with all that empty room, the sound of his neck snapping seemed impossibly loud. Andy and me lost it. We tapped into our true powers for the first time and deep fried the bastard."
"Ryan's alive, how could he be here if he died last time you were here?"
"As it turns out, instead of going to the after life like he should have, Ryan's soul was transported to the realm where Lusniec lives. Lusniec and Ryan don't normally see eye to eye, and even had a death match that ended in Lusniec getting cut in half, but divine beings don't die so easily. And if it weren't for that fact, Ryan wouldn't be here. Apparently he convinced Lusniec, by what means I'm truly afraid to know, to bring him back. And Lusniec did, although neither of them would say why." Matt looked over at the fire and saw it was starting to die down. "Well, I'd better get some wood before you freeze." Sakura glanced over at the pile of wood as Matt walked out of the tee-pee. It was enough for another three days.
888
"Well, that's the last one." Ryan said as he flew the last bag up through the hole Matt had made in the snow. Although the two had come expecting to have to dig everything out of the avalanche, whatever Matt had done had frozen the ice in a circle around the bags. "And with that, we get to head back to the camp."
"Hey Ryan, you and Matt and Andy are heroes here, right?"
"Well, we were part of a group that killed Sin for good, so I suppose so. Whether or not people know what Matt and me did in specific, I'm not sure. That would depend on what Yuna told the public." He handed Nick both his bags. "I guess we'll find out when we're done helping out Kimahri."
"So a lot of people are gonna be trying to be friendly to you, aren't they?" Ryan shrugged.
"They would on Earth, yeah, but Spira's different when it comes to stuff like that. They'll show us more respect then they'll show you or a normal person, but will they try to pretend to be our friends? Probably not, not unless they've got something they need us to do."
"Hey, Ryan. You forgot something." Nick pointed to a darker blue in the small hole. Ryan jumped down the hole and found himself staring at a short sword. He grabbed it and flew out of the tunnel. "Another sword?"
Ryan pulled it out of the sheath and a small piece of paper fell out of it. Ryan bent down and looked at the paper, which had a single word written on it. "Shinagami."
"Shinagami?" Nick took the paper and just shook his head. "What the hell does 'Shinagami' mean?"
"Shinagami's the Japanese god of death, I think." Nick looked at him like he was crazy.
"So the Japanese god of death just randomly decided to give you a short sword?" Ryan sheathed his new sword.
"Actually, I think it's just the sword's name." He opened his duffel bag and made some room for it. "But for now, lets just get back to the camp. I'm starting to freeze."
888
"Matt, we found something odd earlier." Ryan said as he watched the violent thunderstorm with his friend. He produced Shinagami from under his cloak and tossed it over to his friend. "It came with a note."
Matt caught the short sword and examined it. "What'd the note say?"
"Shinagami." Matt pulled the sword out of its sheath and ran a calloused finger over the blade. When he pulled it away a line of blood was slowly making its way down his finger.
"Sharp." He commented. "And it doesn't seem like its been here for long either. The sheath looks like it was just made a little while ago." Ryan nodded as Matt threw the sword back to him.
"There's something else you should see." He set the naked short sword on his lap and laid the sheath on the ground next to him. Next he pulled out Wind Cutter and drew the legendary weapon. Instantly both blades started to glow, Wind Cutter its normal gentle silver and Shinagami a deep, almost back, purple. He slammed Wind Cutter back into its sheath and then put Shinagami back as well. "Either they were meant to be together, or they were meant to stay apart and they just haven't been unsheathed long enough for us to notice that."
"So where'd you find it?"
"Nick noticed it after we'd gotten all the equipment out. I swear, it wasn't there when I first went down."
Matt closed his eyes as a bolt of lightning slammed into him. "It wasn't there when I left either." Ryan nodded.
"Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that." The two watched the storm for a few minutes before Ryan broke the straining silence. "I think it was one of the gods, or Lusniec." Matt nodded in agreement. It did, after all, give off the same feeling of power that all the legendary weapons had given off. "So, what do you think it means?'
"How the hell should I know?" Ryan shrugged as a lightning bolt caused pyreflies to start leaking out of the ground a ways of to their left, the small fire-fly like creatures standing out in the darkness. "Could be that someone thought you'd need it. Could be a trap. Could be it really was meant to be with Wind Cutter, or it could be meant for someone else, and you're just being used as a carrier. You know how crazy things get when higher powers are involved."
"Yeah, and we just have to go along for the ride." Ryan pointed out in a defeated voice.
888
Sakura found herself struggling to understand what had happened to her. She'd know that her whole world would change when she got to Spira, but she'd never expected to meet a blue furred, bipedal lion, none the less an entire tribe of them. And who was the guy with the kimono and silver hair that was starting to show up in her dreams? Should she tell Matt-san, Nick-san, and Ryan-san about him? And who was the girl that looked like an older version of herself that had appeared and just listened to everything Sakura had needed to get off her chest? And where was she now when Sakura felt like she was on the edge of a mental break down once again.
She checked her watch and found it was two in the morning. "I've been here for two weeks, and it still feels so strange. I'm living on a frozen mountain, in a tee-pee with three guys that I barely know, one of whom claims to be a god, one who claims to be an angel, and one who just loves to blow stuff up. Not to mention that the tee-pee is in the middle of a Ronso village." She bit her lip and struggled against the tears building up in her eyes. "I just want to get this over with and go home, why are we sitting around like this?" She wiped her eyes and threw on a sweatshirt.
Although she noticed the temperature difference when she walked outside she found that, despite the fact that even some of the Ronso who lived here were shivering, she was fine. In her half dazed state it barely registered, nonetheless seemed odd to her. She jogged away from camp a little and sat down on a cliff that she went to whenever she wanted to have some privacy. Although Matt-san and Ryan-san had pointed it out to her, and had even suggested the place as a retreat for her if she needed it, she found that neither of them ever bothered her even when they knew she was there.
"Sakura not safe on mountain." Sakura stiffened at the sound of Kimahri's voice. She'd been thinking so hard that she'd completely missed him coming up the gravel and snow filled path. "Can Kimahri sit?"
"Sure, Kimahri-sama." She moved over so the Ronso could sit down next to her, interested in the fact that he was talking to her. For the past two weeks he, or some other Ronso, had watched over her whenever she'd gone for walks in the nearby area. They'd always given her enough room to give her more then enough privacy and space, but whenever a fiend appeared they were on it in a few heartbeats. And as soon as it was gone, the Ronso would go back to where he'd been before the fiend had appeared.
"Sakura scared?"
"A little, Kimahri-sama. It's got nothing to do with you, its just…" she trailed off as she thought about Earth.
"Sakura miss home." She nodded. "Kimahri remember when first meet Matt and Ryan. Thought they were weak, useless. Ryan, Matt, Tidus, and Andy beat Kimahri with trick, and not true talent." Sakura looked up at the proud warrior as he continued. "Later, Kimahri see them use other tricks to win fights. Kimahri think they were too weak to fight, then group meet up with Sinspawn. Ryan rip up ground with sword, and later two kill Sinspawn and save group. After that Kimahri watch them closer and see they were strong."
"How so? At that point they didn't have many of their powers, and weren't all that strong, right?" Kimahri nodded.
"Matt, Andy, and Ryan not have much physical strength at time, but still as strong as rest of group. Kimahri took long time to realize. Andy, Matt, and Ryan smart, and kind, and put heart and soul into everything that Matt, Ryan, and Andy do. Ryan, Andy, and Matt still put heart and soul into everything Andy, Matt, and Ryan do. Sakura put heart and soul into everything Sakura do, Sakura will be strong like Matt, Ryan, and Andy."
"Yeah, they put everything they had into everything they did. But you all did. And besides, to be honest, I don't even want to be here. I miss my mom, and Kenji nii-chan, and all my friends from Earth. And if I don't forget about them or get over being home sick, I'll never be as strong as them. And if I don't forget about going home, I'll never be brave enough to fight with them."
"Kimahri know Sakura wrong."
"What do you mean by that, Kimahri-sama?"
"Kimahri know why Ryan, Andy, and Matt put heart and soul into everything two years ago." He tapped Sakura's chest and then her head. "Andy, Matt, and Ryan not want to die so Matt, Ryan, and Andy can see home again. Desire to go home gave Ryan, Andy, and Matt strength to keep going." Sakura smiled slightly. "If Sakura forget about going home, Sakura will never be as strong as Sakura could be."
'The desire to go home. They kept that in their hearts and head, and that was enough to get them through everything they went up against.' Sakura wiped away a tear and sighed.
"Kimahri glad Matt and Ryan home again. Kimahri's friends will be glad to see Ryan and Matt again."
Sakura looked at Kimahri with open confusion. "Did you just say 'home'?" Kimahri nodded. "Kimahri-sama, their home is Earth, just like me and Nick."
This time Kimahri shook his head. "Sakura not leave sacred mountain yet, so Sakura not see what Matt, Ryan, and Andy saw two years ago. Ryan fell in love with Rikku, and Ryan regretted leaving. Matt and Andy never fit in on Earth, but all three fit in on Spira. All three found Spira was true home, not Earth."
"Ryan-san fell in love?" Kimahri nodded. "Well that's something I didn't know." Kimahri picked up his spear and stood up.
"Kimahri glad Sakura not fear Ronso now. Kimahri like Sakura." With that he turned and walked back down the path to the Ronso camp.
'Or maybe just the end of the path, so he can watch over me like he always does.' She smiled at the thought of any of the Ronso warriors trying to hide behind a tree like people tended to do in cartoons. 'Well, its not home, but maybe Spira's not so bad.'
888
Kimahri walked over to the sphere-com that was in the village. Yuna had asked him to put the little device in so that he could stay in touch with everyone, and he planned to use it to call her. 'Matt and Ryan stay on sacred mountain too much already. Need to see friends other then Kimahri.' With a determined grunt he turned the little device on. For a few seconds there was just static, but Yuna's voice came on after a few seconds.
"Hey everyone. Sorry, but I'm not here right now, so please leave a message. I miss you all, so make sure you keep in touch!" The machine beeped.
"Kimahri need to talk to Yuna. Kimahri find sphere on top of sacred mountain. Kimahri thought Yuna should know." He turned the machine off with a clawed toe and turned around just in time to see Sakura walking back into camp.
"Kimahri-sama, how much stronger do you think I'll have to get to be useful?"
"Kimahri not know. Kimahri not seen Sakura fight worthy foe." The girl nodded absently and walked back into the tee-pee for a few seconds. When she came back out she was twirling a pair of Tonfas, watching the one in her right hand intensively.
"Hey, Kimahri-sama," a small smile started to play across her face. "Think you're a worthy foe?"
888
"Matt, get up." The thunder god muttered a string of curses in a combination of English, Spanish, Japanese, Al Bhed and Italian as he sat up. "Check that out." He pointed towards the door to the tee-pee. The sound of wood hitting wood caused Matt to wake up slightly quicker then he normally would have. He peeked out the door and the first thing he noticed was that the sun wasn't up.
'Great, he woke me up before the sun came up.' Another series of wooden collisions drew his attention to the right where he saw Sakura and Kimahri sparring.
"Check out her eyes when she goes by." Ryan whispered when Matt ducked in to avoid being seen. When the sound of footsteps were lighter he looked back out again, this time trying to see Sakura's eyes without being seen. It was difficult to see anything clearly for more then a splint second as the two whirled, spun, jumped and countered attacks. When he did his eyes widened.
'So different from when she fought with me.' He pulled his head back into the tent and sat down. "What happened to her? Her eyes are totally different from when she fought me."
"I can't say I knew that much, but I did notice they were a lot different then normal." He drummed on the ground with his knuckles. "Its like she wasn't focusing before, and she is now, or something like that."
"Yeah, when she fought me she was enjoying herself and I think she thought she was better then me. If she did, then she was probably just messing around. But now… damn…"
"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Nick threw the bag he'd been using as a pillow at them. Matt caught it and smiled slightly as Nick went back to bed.
"Hey, Ryan." His friend stopped his drumming and looked up. "Maybe its time we started working out, eh?" Ryan's eye twitched.
"You mean the pull-ups that Auron used to do, don't you?" Matt smiled. "I hate you." Matt grabbed a kunai and cut the handles off of a duffle bag. He threw one to Ryan who was already on his way out of the tee-pee. The sound of Kimahri and Sakura sparring faded as Ryan revealed himself.
"Morning, Sakura-san. Morning, Kimahri." He stifled a yawn as Matt stepped out of the tee-pee.
"Where are you two going?" Sakura asked.
"To do some pull-ups." Matt replied as the two walked out of the camp. When they found a suitable over-hanging they tied the leather straps to the Kunai and threw the Kunai into the ice. They tested how well they were in, and when they were satisfied that their weight would be supported they wrapped their hands in the leather straps and started to pull themselves up.
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Three hours later Sakura landed on her butt with a painful thud and rubbed her stomach. "Sakura strong, fast. Sakura need experience, not strength." She smiled despite the throbbing in her stomach and stood up slowly.
"Experience you?" Kimahri nodded. "Thanks, Kimahri-sama." She bowed to him, and he returned the bow, if somewhat awkwardly. "Oh, Kimahri-sama, one last thing. Could you not tell Ryan-san and Matt-san that I speak English, or Spirian, whatever it is I'm speaking now?" Kimahri nodded and then looked past her to where a small group of Ronso were talking to each other in confused and amazed voices. "Uh-oh, wonder what that's about."
Kimahri and Sakura walked up and over heard something about kids, three hours, and 400. "Kimahri find out what Ronso talk about." Sakura nodded and followed Kimahri as he made his way through the crowd, which broke in step behind Sakura. Not five minutes out of the town they found Ryan sitting on the ground, panting and covered in sweat and counting off as Matt continued to do pull ups.
"Matt-san, Ryan-san, what are you doing?" Ryan chuckled but continued to count. "Fine, ignore me then."
"He's not… ignoring you." Matt said without breaking his pace. "He's keeping count for me."
"But he just said 730…"
"Well we've been at it for about three hours, right?" Sakura laughed.
"You've been doing this for three hours? Sorry, Matt-san, but I have a hard time believing that." Mat snickered. "What?"
"I just have a hard time believing how different your eyes were when you were sparring with Kimahri, as compared to when you sparred with me." Sakura stared at him like he was crazy. "It's true. If all you could see were your eyes, someone would've sworn that you were two different people. So tell me, Ms. Kendo Team Captain, what got into you?"
Sakura giggled. "That's a secret." Matt rolled his eyes and dropped down. "So, how many did Ryan-san do?"
"489." Ryan said proudly, despite the fact that Matt had gotten almost 300 more then him.
"That's a new record for you, isn't it?" Ryan flipped his friend off and sat up. Thunder roared overhead despite the clear sky. "What the hell?"
Some of the Ronso growled at the unnatural sound. "Sphere Hunters pillage sacred mountain! Ronso protect sacred mountain!" Kimahri frowned slightly, knowing inwardly that it wasn't a normal group of Sphere Hunters.
'Kimahri protect Yuna.' He thought as he turned to his tribe. "Sphere Hunters want sphere. Kimahri send Kimahri friends to get sphere, bring sphere to Kimahri." Ryan and Matt chuckled. "Kimahri ask friends to stop Sphere Hunters for good."
"Doesn't look like we're being given a choice." Sakura said with a wry smile. "Go get your weapons."
"This could be a good time to try out some of that equipment." Matt pointed out as the three humans walked back to the camp. Nick threw his last bag at them as they walked in, but sat up when they told him to get ready.
"Where are we heading?"
"Not sure yet. We're chasing some Sphere Hunters. At least that's what the Ronso think they are." Matt pulled the metal gauntlets out of his back and marveled at their lightweight. When they'd first tested them, they'd shattered easily under the legendary weapons. Now Lightning Edge could barely put a dent in them, and Wind Cutter could barely scratch them. Sakura and Nick shook their heads at the sight of the armor they thought useless. 'Guess they haven't seen me and Ryan sparring in the morning.' Matt thought as he slipped the metal on. It was cold to the touch at first, but quickly absorbed some of his body heat.
Next he pulled out the belt. It had numerous compartments that Matt had filled with the exploding capsules, and four poison tipped throwing stars where the belt buckle should have been. Behind them was a mini stun gun that Bokuzen-san had developed for the Japanese government. They'd said it was simply too small to be used as anti-personal weapons, despite the fact that it had burned several men so badly that they'd lost the use of their hands. Or so Bokuzen-san had claimed. The back of the belt had a pair of poison tipped daggers that were literally built into the belt, and concealed by four removable pouches that appeared to be permanent.
Matt strapped it on and went back into the bag. The next item he pulled out a jacket that was wind resistant and had more hidden pockets then Matt thought he'd ever find uses for. He pulled his pair of sunglasses out of the front pocket and put them on. He cycled through the modes to make sure it wasn't someone else pair before he pulled out a new pair of boots. He slammed them onto the ground once and blades popped out of the toes. Another slam revealed the heel blades, and another caused them to pop back into place. He put them on and walked around the room and was glad that it took more then a little bit of pressure to active the blades. He started running and they still didn't activate. He reached into one of his belt compartments and pulled out his earpiece.
Next he pulled his backpack over and started to stash stun and flash bang grenades into some of the hidden pockets in his jacket, and a few of the healing potions the Ronso had given them. When he thought he had enough grenades and potions he grabbed a few of the Manriki chains that they'd gotten, still tied up, and hooked them to his belt. Satisfied that he had everything he could possibly need to test he glanced over and saw Ryan putting on his own pair of shoes. 'Guess with his speed the boots wouldn't cut it too well.' The sound of Sakura and Nick both chambering the first rounds of their guns signified that they were ready as well.
"Well then, lets go." Nick said with an eager voice.
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Matt watched as the giant ship, for that's what Kimahri had them following, stop a couple hundred feet up the mountain. It sat there for a minute and then rose higher into the air.
"Wonder what it's doing." Nick muttered as the ship stopped again. "Think it needs to work out or something?"
"Maybe the pilots found something they didn't like where they wanted to land." Sakura suggested. "I mean, in Spira it is possible whatever they were coming for is guarded by a bunch of fiends, right?"
"Probably, if it's a sphere worth fighting over. If not, well, fiends are overrunning the mountain." An amused smile played across the angel's face. "Maybe something worth fighting."
"How do we even get up there?" Nick asked. "We've got a grappling hook, but it's not that long. And to be honest, I don't see that many ledges."
"We'll split into two groups. Ryan and Nick, you'll go straight up, let us know when you run into trouble. Sakura-san, you and me are going along the path. Hope you're up for a nice, long walk."
"A long walk on a beautiful mountain, with you?" She rolled her eyes dramatically and continued in the most sarcastic voice any of them had ever heard from her, "I'm so excited."
"Right. Let's go people, we've got Sphere Hunters to kick off the mountains." The two groups parted ways and headed their own ways to the top of the mountain.
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"Well, Matt-san, its definitely a group of three." Sakura whispered as she cycled back to the normal view of her sunglasses. "They seem to be stuck on something, or because of something. Not sure what."
"Well that's good." Matt replied. "Maybe it'll give us some time to see just how dangerous they really are." The sound of metal scraping against metal at high speeds brought both of them completely out of the cover of the snow. "That can't be good." He switched to the infrared mode and found the three people dropping quickly down a shaft. "Damn it."
The two scrambled down the slope and rushed towards the ruins. A two-mile sprint over slippery snow and an uneven surface should've taken them almost ten minutes, but the two easily made it in three. "They're gone." Sakura noted when they reached the shaft, which they now recognized to be an elevator. "What now, Matt-san?"
Matt let out an amused chuckle. "Hope you've done some rock climbing." He said as he bent down to grab the edge of the rail.
"Do you always have to do stuff the hard way, Matt-san?" He looked up as Sakura, who was pointing to a glowing red button. "What does 'Nadinh' mean?"
Matt smiled slightly and stood up. "It's Al Bhed. It's a language native to Spira. You'll probably pick it up once we get back together with Rikku."
"Two things: First, you didn't answer my question, and second, what makes you so sure we'll meet up with this 'Rikku' person?" Matt smiled.
"That's right, Ryan hasn't mentioned her much, has he?" Sakura shook her head. "Being on Gagazet's been really painful for Ryan since he could go and find Rikku. They were dating before we had to come back to Earth" Sakura pointed at the words somewhat impatiently. "Ah, right. Nadinh… that would be… return, if I'm not mistaken." He tapped the button and the floor at the bottom of the shaft started to rise. "Well, that saves us a lot of work." The two stepped onto the elevator cautiously when it first stopped. When they were sure that it wouldn't just give out on them they walked over and pressed the button on the far side of the elevator. It lurched once before it dropped to the ground, the sound of metal scraping metal screamed all around them. After a few seconds the spark lit right came to a slamming stop that sent them both crashing to the ground.
"That wasn't much fun." Sakura muttered as they stood back up slowly.
"Welcome to Spira." Matt muttered as he looked at his arm where Lightning Edge had cut him. "You'll find we run into a lot of problems like that."
"Wonderful." The two continued to walk through the rundown ruins until they heard the sound of people's voice.
"Who's there?" The two froze at the question.
"Er, Leblanc. Remember that name well, loves!" Said another woman.
"Ah, the thief." The first voice said somewhat crossly.
'That voice sounds so familiar…' Matt's eyes widened with amusement as remembered where he'd heard the voice before. He patted the sphere Auron had given each of the gods when he'd showed up on Earth. "Yuna."
"Maybe she'll go away if we ignore her." A third person said in an annoyed, but familiar voice. He smiled this time, recognizing the voice immediately.
'Rikku. Well, Ryan's going to be happy.'
"You! I heard that!" This time Leblanc, whoever that was, sounded very pissed. "Just as I was saying: amateurs! They have no concept of what it takes to be a true Sphere Hunter."
"Amateurs? Weren't you the one following us?" A fourth woman asked in a voice that Matt didn't recognize. It was deeper then Rikku or Yuna's voices, and it held a bored tone that seemed too natural.
"Following? A mere coincidence." Leblanc said cockily. Matt smiled slightly at the obvious lie, and would have looked out to see who all was there but a pair of heavy feet came pounding along.
"You was right, boss, as always." Someone said in a deep, but stupid voice.
"Indeed, following them has paid off splendidly." Another guy said in a voice that was only slightly higher then the first guys.
Yuna, Rikku, and the person with them giggled at the comment. "What's going on, Matt-san?" Sakura asked, still pretending to not understand English. Matt held up a hand.
"Laugh while you can!" Matt sighed and turned to his friend.
"Okay, two of my friends are out there." A pair of guns was fired and Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Look, just kick the crap outta the guys, got it?" Sakura twirled her Tonfas and smiled uncertainly. 'Guess its understandable to be nervous. Someone out there has a pair of guns, not exactly a fair fight.' He set his second axe down. 'No need to let them know who I am just yet.'
He nodded to Sakura and turned around to where gunfire was blazing quickly now, and took a deep breath. He stepped out from behind the wall with a smile and all combat stopped for a split second. That was all he needed.
A bolt of lightning slammed into a fat guy, who barely his shield in front of him in time to avoid the full force of the attack. As he fell to the ground his tall, thin friend turned and pointed to revolvers at Matt. On earth that wouldn't have been a problem. On earth his electric shield would've absorbed the bullets left in the gun with ease.
But this wasn't earth. And this gun, Matt was forced to assume, wasn't going to be running out of ammunition any time soon. He grinned. 'This'll be fun.' The man opened fire on him as the fat guy hit the ground with a thud. Matt rolled to his left, away from everyone and out of the way of the bullets. He heard the smack of wood against a person, a sound he'd become very familiar with over the past two years. He glanced over and found the tall guy grappling, and loosing horribly, with Sakura. The goddess had already disarmed him completely, but a blonde in a red dress that was mildly revealing, and rather ugly looking, pulled out a fan and launched a tornado-like gust of wind at the two. A wall of solid ice slammed into the wind, dispersing it before Sakura even became aware of it.
A blur of silver drew Matt's attention to his right as he skidded to a stop. A woman in short shorts, and a tank top with Jecht's symbol on it was sighting him down with a pair of pistols. Matt smiled, despite the fact that he barely recognized his old friend. Yuna.
She opened fire on the fat guy who had finally managed to get back to his feet. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the shield, but completely pinned the man down and kept him out of the fight. Matt smiled slightly as he slammed the flat of Lightning Edge into the thin man's knees. The man's legs buckled and Sakura slammed a fist into his face so hard that she knocked a tooth loose. The woman in the red, the fat guy, and Yuna all stopped and stared at Sakura as she got off the tall guy's unconscious form.
Matt took the pause in the battle to look at the last unknown there. She had spiky white hair, red eyes that were surprisingly cold, and worth leather exclusively, even though it was segmented into sections, in-between which she wore nothing. Around her shoulders was the only thing that wasn't black leather, and that was a piece of black material that covered almost half her upper body. Behind her she was holding a sword that was easily as big as Auron's, but she didn't seem to have any problem wielding it.
"Who, are you? More amateur Sphere Hunters?" Matt's smile became an emotionless mask. "What, fiend got your tongue?"
Matt stood up and hefted Lightning Edge and pretended to study the entire group. He looked at the fallen tall guy who he was resting a foot on, and at Sakura who was sitting cross-legged on the ground and doing the same thing he was. The two looked at the woman in red, and then the guy with the shield who was looking at them with surprise evident in his eyes. "Who are we? We should be asking you that, you're the one invading the Ronso's sacred mountain."
Yuna and a blonde behind her who Matt was positive was Rikku, despite the major outfit change, gasped in surprise. The woman in leather raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and the chick in red simply laughed. "We don't care, love. We're the LeBlanc Syndicate. We do what we want. And what we want is to do is take the sphere at the top of the mountain!"
Matt shook his head and sighed audibly. "Sorry, nobody's taking that sphere without Kimahri's permission, got it? Now I'll give you one last chance to leave." The two laughed at him nervously and he shook his head with fake sadness. "Well then, I was hoping it'd come to this, but I didn't think that it'd actually get here. But since it did, lets go." He turned to Yuna. "You three just stay right there, ok? I know someone who's going to want to see meet you."
"Forget it love, 'cause we're taking that sphere and there's nothing you can do about it. Now step aside before I get angry."
Matt laughed once. "Angry? Step aside before you get 'angry'? Lady, you don't know what anger is. Angry is waking up in a place you don't belong every day, and knowing you can't go back to where you belong until you do what you have to. Angry is the feeling you get when you can't be around the friends you really want to be around, and have to work for some ass-hole who see you as a means to an end and not a living person." Energy started to crackle in the air and a ring of electricity started to form around Matt. "Now, I've been living that life for too long. Here, I'll show you the physical manifestation of my anger!"
'Matt?' Yuna wondered as she watched the amazing feat before her. Lightning was arcing around Leblanc's gang and forming into a ball in Matt's hand. 'It could be, but why is he back so soon? And where are Andy and Ryan? Something's not right here.'
Leblanc and the fat guy stared at the raw power of a ball of pure thunder. "Last chance, Leblanc. Get off this mountain before I get angry." The two nodded vigorously. Matt stepped off the tall, thin guy and they picked him up and dragged him off without breaking stride. Matt smiled. "Off mountain is the other way." He muttered as he let his Chidori die.
"Hey!"
Rikku pouted as she watched Leblanc's gang race at full speed to the top of the mountain. "Who does she think she is?"
"She's getting hurt." The woman that Matt still didn't know added.
"Relax, Paine. We need to beat her to the top!" Yuna holstered her pistols and took off as fast as she could.
"You don't have to run?" Yuna stopped and looked at him like he was stupid. "Our friends'll stop them."
"Are you sure that they can handle those three? They're really tricky." Rikku commented as she put away a pair of red daggers that had abnormally long blades for knives.
Matt snorted. "Oh, I'm pretty sure they'll be ok." Matt pictured the fight in his mind and couldn't help but smile slightly. He strapped Lightning Edge to his back and retrieved his other axe. He heard Rikku and Yuna gasp almost imperceptibly and smiled. "Let's go, before some Ronso decided that my friends and I are taking too long to get Sphere Hunters off their mountain."
"Who are you?" Pained demanded, still standing in her ready stance. "I asked who you are!" She repeated through clenched teeth when he didn't answer.
Matt shook his head. "Sure you wanna draw your sword against me after what you just saw?" Paine's stance didn't relax at all and Matt sighed. "Well, if you want to know, figure it out."
Pained stared at him, debating whether to attack when he turned his back. 'No.' she thought as she put her sword away. 'He's too useful right now. As long as he's here we don't have to worry about Leblanc's gang.'
"Well, if we're not going to fight anymore, I suggest that we start towards the top." Matt turned and started to walk down the path that Leblanc's gang had taken without waiting for a reply from any of them. Sakura followed him instantly, and Yuna, Rikku, and Paine followed after that. 'Well, Yuna and Rikku probably recognized me with that Chidori, but they're not saying anything. Then again, Kimahri had a hard time believing us too. We weren't supposed to be back for another year. Guess I can't blame them too much. Besides, it'll end up being more fun this way.'
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"Hey, Ryan. What's the deal with this?" Nick pointed down to three people who were desperately scrambling up the mountain behind them. "Should I give'em a warm welcome on this cold day?"
"That would be a bit excessive. Besides, remember what happened last time you use explosives on Gagazet?" The two smiled. "I mean, sure it was fine in the end, but causing an avalanche is bad, Nick. Bad." Nick flipped him off while he continued to watch the three come closer. The first guy was skinny, while the second was fat. The only reason he'd even noticed the woman behind them was because of her constant yelling. "Geez, could they be any louder, honestly? They'll probably cause an avalanche at this rate anyway."
"Does that mean I can go to work?"
"No." Ryan replied flatly. "How about we just let them come to us."
"Hit-and-run tactics?" Ryan nodded. "Man, how boring."
"But utterly efficient." Ryan added as he stood up and walked behind a wall of solid ice. A few seconds later Nick joined him, and a minute later they heard someone scrambling over the edge of the ledge they'd been watching the three from. Next came someone heavier, followed by the sounds of the woman cursing as she scrambled up the mountain. Nick rolled his eyes, amazed at how uncoordinated the group was. Nick nodded around the wall and Ryan sighed, knowing he would go whether or not Ryan agreed.
"So you're the Sphere Hunters, eh?" Ryan asked as the two walked out from behind the cliff.
"Don't look too tough to me." Nick added.
The fat man pulled a giant shield off his back and brought it up into what the two could only assume was a ready position. "Boss, we needs ta get ridda all des guardians." The woman looked the two over.
"I agree, lady Leblanc." The tall guy said.
"I suppose you won't simply let us pass then, will you?" Nick snorted and Ryan just watched the group with a false mild interest. "I didn't think so. Ormi," The fat guy looked over at her. "Logos," the tall guy who was now wielding two six-shots looked down and waited for orders. "Remove them."
"With pleasure, lady Leblanc." Logos said as he opened fire on the two. Ryan jumped straight up, Wind Cutter already out, and Nick dropped a flash bang grenade and turn just before it blew. Logos and Leblanc cried out in pain at the sudden flare.
"Thank you sergeant." Nick muttered as he pulled out a concussion grenade. He spun around, chucked the grenade, then moved behind the wall and covered his ears. The grenade exploded, and even with his ears covered he could barely hear through the ringing. 'Son of a bitch.'
He pulled out his pistol and peeked around the corner just in time to see a shower of sparks and blood fly away from Ormi, the fat guy. He blinked and saw a cut in the shield that went almost halfway down, and blood was trickling onto the snow from the arm behind it. 'Ryu Tsui Sen.' Nick thought with a slight smile. A bullet bounced off the ground in front of him and he spun around, his pistol ready. The tall one, Logos, had managed to gather himself together, and was now trying to correct his aim, but was clearly having trouble. 'Must've screwed up his balance.' Nick fired off three shots. The first was wide, but the second slammed into Logos' right leg. As Logos fell he tried to bring his gun around to fire at Nick, but the third bullet slammed into his hand and he dropped it.
"Nick! Why the hell did you use a concussion grenade when we were right there!" Nick heard his friend's shout clearly.
'Guess the affects aren't that bad after all." Nick turned and was smacked to the ground by Leblanc's fan. Even as he hit the ground he was twisting around, his legs knocking hers our from under her. She hit the ground with a thud as Nick regained his footing. "Sorry, it'd be too great a loss to the women of Spira if I died here." Leblanc's face was twisted in rage as she waved her fan at him. A powerful gust of air sent Nick flying into the wall of ice, which cracked slightly when he hit. 'This is why I hate magic.'
Leblanc raised her fan again, a smug look of victory on her face. Nick's gun flew up, aimed at her head. Too late. Leblanc was faster then him, and Nick braced himself for the impact that was on its way. After a few seconds of nothing Nick opened one eye and understood why.
"You bastard! You cut my fan, my beautiful fan, in half!" Leblanc screeched at Ryan who sat there and nodded his head calmly.
"I did. I also cut through fattie's shield so much that I got his arm, and Nick took out beanpole. Anything else we should do before kicking you off the mountain."
Leblanc shot daggers at him with her eyes and he simply bowed his head politely. "Damn! First it was that lighting manipulating freak, now you two!" She screeched as Ormi helped Logos to his feet as best he could. "We're leaving. Come on!" The three left the way they'd come and Matt sat down next to Nick, holding his head.
"Don't ever use one of those when we're in range, got it?" Nick nodded since his own ears hadn't stopped ringing either.
"Nick-san, Ryan-san. We found three Sphere Hunters, they claim to know Kimahri and I think Matt-san knows them, but he's leading us right under you. Try not to kill us, ok?" Sakura's voice came over the head sets but only Nick heard it over the ringing in his ears. "Oh, and Matt-san says to meet us at the ruins that Kimahri mentioned, the ones on the top of the mountain. Says you're going to love the surprise."
"Got it, Sakura-san." Nick replied as the two stood up. "Ryan, you ok? Can you hear me, shit head?"
"Fuck you." Ryan muttered as he shook his head. "Lets go, ruins at the top, right?"
"You heard then?"
"Not really, but we've been everywhere else on this mountain and we haven't seen a sphere. It's just common sense that if we didn't find it anywhere else it'd have to be there." Nick nodded.
"Ok, then lets get going."
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"Matt-san, where do you think they are?" Sakura's Japanese had Rikku, Yuna, and Paine utterly confused. At first they'd tried to figure out what the two were talking about, but after more then a few failures they'd given up.
"Well, knowing them they'll be above us, and sticking to the shadows." Matt smiled. "And there are plenty of shadowy ledges all around us, so who knows?"
"Well we're about to run out of 'shadowy ledges' for them to follow us on." Sakura pointed to the top of the path where none of the ledge continued. As the group of five stepped onto the suddenly flat area they found themselves staring at a big ruin.
"I guess this is it." Rikku said happily as they took the place in for a few seconds. Just as they reached the first arch of the ceiling Matt sighed. "What?"
"That." He pointed up to the giant fiend on the ceiling.
"It figures we'd run into something like this." Rikku muttered as she drew her daggers.
"It comes!" Paine yelled as the fiend dropped to the ground, cracking the area that it landed with its great weight.
"So this is Boris." Matt muttered as he hefted Lightning Edge. "The Ronso mentioned it. Its supposed to be some super strong fiend that's protected some of the ruins of Gagazet for thousands of years." Lighting arced around Lightning Edge's head. "Mind if I have the first shot?"
"By all means." Rikku said happily.
"Rikku, that thing'll gut him." Paine muttered as she pulled out her sword and stepped forward. "He may have beaten Leblanc's gang, but that's not saying anything special. They're a bunch of pushovers."
"You don't think I can do it?" Matt asked in an amused voice.
"I know you can't." Paine replied coldly.
"One shot." Paine raised an eyebrow. "I bet you I can kill it in a single attack." Paine rolled her eyes but said nothing. The sound of snow moving down the wall to their left drew the attention of all five. "Sakura-san, is that Nick?" She nodded. "Is Ryan there?"
"Ryan's here." Ryan said as he stepped out from behind one of the walls across from them.
"Fiend." Matt said, pointing at the fiend lazily.
"Is that… Boris?" Matt nodded. "Well, maybe it'll get interesting."
"Hey, no, hold it. I made a bet that I could kill it in one shot. No butting into this one." Ryan sighed.
"Fine, have it your way." He glanced at the fiend. "But it looks like Boris isn't very patient." The fiend whirled around on Ryan, but found nothing but a flash bang grenade. The flash blinded the fiend as Matt charged in.
With a single swing of Lightning Edge the giant fiend's head was severed off completely. He glanced back at Paine and found all four of the women staring at him in awe, fear, and surprise. "What? I told you it'd take one hit, didn't I?"
"Who are you?" Paine demanded.
"Me? My name's Matt, the god of thunder." Paine just stared at him like he was another normal guy.
"And I'm Ryan, tied as the third strongest swordsman to ever live, master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, and reincarnation of Lusniec, the strongest guardian angel ever, direct protector of the gods, yaddie, yaddie, yah." Ryan looked at the growing pool of blood and took a step back to avoid it.
Rikku and Yuna stared at them like they'd each just morphed into something that was a cross between terrifying and hilarious. "You mean to tell us that you're pretending to be our friends?" Yuna's glared turned ice cold. "I'll admit, you're better then most of the imposters we've seen over the past two years. Some can do Hiten Mitsurugi Style, some can do the Chidori. You two can do it all. But they won't be here for another year, so if you wanna leave in one piece stop pretending to be our friends."
Matt and Ryan shared a confused look. "Yuna, I think you've got your facts mixed up." Ryan said as he took a step forward. A bullet buried into the ground not more then an inch from his foot and he nodded his head sadly. "Ok, fine. We'll do it your way. What do we have to do to prove we're really us?"
"Seriously, and who else can use the Chidori. That's my signature move damn it! Only I'm allowed to use it." Matt added as Nick finally stood up from the snow-slide.
"What'd I miss?"
"Rikku-san and Yuna-san," Sakura motioned to each of them as she said their names, "don't believe that Ryan-san and Matt-san are… well, Ryan-san and Matt-san."
"Ohhh, I see." Nick muttered as he started to brush the snow off of himself. "So how are they going to prove they are themselves?"
Sakura shrugged, "I dunno, ask Rikku-san or Yuna-san."
"Well, what do we have to do to prove that we are the guys that were on your journey two years ago, Yunie?" Yuna raised an eyebrow but remained silent. "Yuna, come on, do you want Ryan to summon Kaze or something?"
"Matt, I haven't been able to summon Kaze since we went back to earth." Ryan muttered quietly. "Yuna, you said that people have copied all our attacks, right?" She nodded. "Then ask us a question that only the real us could know."
Yuna relaxed slightly and started to go over the journey that she'd been on two years ago. "Would my word prove sufficient?" The voice sent a wave of fear down Yuna's back and she whipped her pistols around…
And found herself staring at someone she'd hoped to never see again. "But you died. Two years ago, I watched you die."
'That's the guy from my dreams!' Sakura's heart jumped into her throat. 'He's real? And he's… dead! What is going one here?'
"Ryan, Matt. It's been awhile. Ah, and the ever energetic Rikku." Lusniec said as he walked towards his successor. "How're those ribs doing?"
"Vilg oui, oui pycdynt (Fuck you, you bastard)!" Rikku yelled at his back. Lusniec turned around slowly, his giant sword appearing in his hand. A wave of fear unlike anything Rikku had ever felt before washed over her as they locked eyes.
"Now, now. You shouldn't talk to your betters that way, little Al Bhed." Lusniec said with false sweetness.
"Betters?" Matt's question drew Lusniec's attention away from Rikku. "First off, Rikku's a hell of a better person then you ever were. And second, you're alone. There's now 's' in this situation, that would be plural."
"I know how to speak, you half witted thunder bolt." Lusniec snarled. "And as for being 'alone', I think you're about to find out that assumption is very wrong."
"What are you talking about? What idiot would team up with a gay, psychopathic killer whose only goal is to kill my boyfriend?" Lusniec whirled around and Demon Edge slashed out at Rikku's neck. Rikku's eyes widened in horror as her life flashed before her eyes. And then the blade stopped. She glanced over and saw the guy who'd been impersonating Ryan standing between her and Lusniec's sword.
"You ok?" He asked calmly. Rikku stared at him for a few seconds before she realized he was talking to her.
"Uh… yeah, thanks." She whispered, still confused by how he'd stopped Lusniec's attack. "Are you?" Ryan glanced over his shoulder and smiled.
"Please, you think this father fucker could really hurt me? Last time we fought I cut him in two, through his Kuzu Ryu Sen, remember?" Rikku and Yuna stared at him.
They'd never explained how Ryan had beaten Lusniec on Gagazet, 'How does he know that unless…' The truth slapped them in the face like a wet glove. "Oh my god." Rikku whispered as the two swordsmen broke their lock and stepped away from everyone. "Ryan?" Her voice was so quiet that she barely heard it herself, and Ryan didn't hear it because he was too far away.
"Wait, you mean that's really your former guardian, Yuna? Ryan, the guardian angel?" Yuna nodded numbly. "Then he must be Matt, the walking thunder storm." Yuna continued to nod numbly. "Guess appearances are deceiving."
"That was cold, Paine. Really, really cold." Matt noted as he walked over to where they were standing. "Of course, things are about to get a lot more intense in a moment. Nick, get your ass over here!" He turned back to the girls and found himself staring past Yuna's left shoulder, his eyes narrowing barely to slits.
"Matt, you ok? Hey, what's wrong?" Rikku asked, shaking his arm slightly.
"Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Sakura, Nick, get away from here." He muttered through clenched teeth.
"Why?" Yuna demanded.
"Just go. Get your sphere and go back down the mountain as fast at you can, Ryan and I'll meet you at the Ronso village."
"Who's this idiot?" Paine asked when she turned around and found herself staring at Lusniec's new partner. "Don't you know better then to sneak--" She lost her words as a wave of blood lust unlike anything she'd ever felt before washed over her. Before she could do anything Matt grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her behind him with one hand and caught a morning star in his other before it could crush in Yuna's skull. The girls backed away from the murderer and got a good look at him for the first time. Between the bloodlust he was giving off, the devil mask he had on, and the cloak that looked like it was made of blood they felt utterly devoid of any hope at all.
"What the hell is with that guys cloak?" Nick asked as he helped Sakura to her feet. "It looks like blood running down a waterfall, constantly."
"Nick, get them out of here, now!" Matt's tone left Nick no room to argue. "Get to the Ronso village, we'll meet you there."
"Right…" Nick said as he started to push the girls in-between the two spots that were about to become battlefields. A white wall with black smoke inside of it rose up and blocked their only way out of the area. "Okay, not that way." Nick muttered as they ran into the ruins. "Get in the center." He was already setting his opened backpack on the ground, digging through it and tossing explosives out carelessly. "Come on, come on. Ah ha!" He pulled out several packages that were wrapped up in bubble wrap and started to pull it apart.
"Nick-san, duck!" The fact that Sakura had yelled in English didn't even register as Nick rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying missile that was actually the masked man.
"'Scuse me, coming through." Matt said as he followed the man into the ruins, a little blood on his right fist.
Sakura's words clicked into place in Nick's mind. "Hey, that was English!"
"Later, Nick-san!" Sakura yelled, again in English, as she grabbed him and pulled him out of the ruins. A black wave flashed in front her as she came out, nearly cutting her nose of it was so close.
"Ryan!" Rikku gasped in horror. Sakura whipped her head around and saw why Rikku was horrified. Ryan was covered in blood, and all of it was his own. Nearly a hundred small red rivers already covered his body already and the two hadn't been fighting for more then two minutes at most. While Ryan was covered in his own blood, Lusniec seemed to be fine. His movements were fluid, natural, and deadly. His kimono was still snow white, and not a drop of blood was on any part of him but his sword and the bottom of his sandals. "Oh my god."
Rikku started forward but stopped when she felt a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Don't do it, Rikku." Paine said calmly.
"Rikku…" The blonde Al Bhed dropped to her knees and stared at the battle. "Come on, Rikku. We have to get back to the Celsius." Rikku looked at Yuna like she'd never seen her before. "I don't want to leave them either, Rikku, but we can't do anything for them. And if we don't go then all the Ronso could die too. We'll come back for them, with all the Ronso warriors Kimahri can spare."
Rikku shook her head. "We wouldn't make it." She told them in a horrified voice.
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"What is this?" Lusniec demanded when Ryan dropped to his knees and tried to catch his breath. "Why aren't you fighting back? Well, what's wrong with you?"
'Good question.' Ryan admitted to himself. 'What's going on here? I can see his blade fine, but I can't stop it. I think he's going to go one way and he goes another, and half the time he hits even when I do manage to block him.' He looked down at his legs, which were almost torn to ribbons like every other part of his body. 'I'm loosing a lot of blood.' His vision, already tinted red from all the blood running over his eye, was blurring quickly, and no matter how hard he tried his body didn't respond.
"Well, nothing to say for yourself before you die?" Ryan stood up slowly and glared at Lusniec who sneered back. "You're pitiful." Ryan's sword came up to block the sword strike he expected. Lusniec grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed Ryan's face into his knee. "You're not the kid that promised me a death match. You're not even worth letting live to get stronger."
'What's going on?' Ryan could barely make out Lusniec's form though the blur of images he saw. 'I can't think straight.'
:So don't think.: a woman's voice said gently. :Confused? Please, don't be alarmed.:
"Easier said than done." Ryan muttered.
"Talking to yourself now, worm?" Lusniec kicked Ryan in the face so hard he flew back three feet before he landed.
'Got stay calm. Gotta think. There's a way out, I've just gotta stay alive long enough to find it.' Ryan winced as a waved of pain racked his body.
:Don't think.: The woman said gently. :Feel. Let go of your senses. Trust your instincts, like you did two years ago, on Gagazet.:
'Who are you?' Ryan demanded.
:I'm Usi, the goddess of ice.: Ryan winced as Lusniec kicked him in the stomach. :I know I'm not supposed to meddle in the affairs of other gods, but Lusniec has lost all traces of sanity. I will not let him continue his spree of madness. Remember, feel, and let go of your sense. Don't think.:
Ryan closed his eyes and heard Lusniec stop in front of him. 'Feel, don't think. Let go of your senses. What is Usi, a fucking Jedi?' Ryan shook his head as another voice, this time one that he recognized, came into his head.
"Do or do not. There is no try." The old voice of Yoda said in his head. Ryan couldn't help but laugh.
'Alright, master, I'll obey you.' Ryan thought sarcastically.
"Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you. Need that, you do not."
'I must be going insane. Or maybe I've just lost too much blood.' Ryan's body began to relax. 'First I'm talking to a goddess that I shouldn't be, using telepathy, and now I'm hearing Yoda's voice, and he's reprimanding me.' Distract by his thought, Ryan didn't notice that his body was completely relaxed, or the look on Lusniec's face that was something between anger and confusion. A realization hit Ryan twice as hard as Lusniec's kick that sent him flying half a dozen feet. 'I've been trying to fight the way Auron taught me. I've been trying to think of what Lusniec'll do next instead of just fighting.' An image of the ancient master appeared in his mind.
"You're hopeless." Lusniec muttered. "If you had at least given me some challenge I'd have let you live. But you didn't land a single attack!"
'Auron, you taught me a lot about being a swordsman. You showed me how to do things I only dreamed of, helped us sharpen our reflexes to the point where even Nick can stop my attacks once and a while. But you never told us how we were able to do that. Now I understand, we have to find that out for ourselves, don't we?' The image of Auron nodded, almost like Auron was agreeing with him. "Thanks."
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Matt wasn't in a good position, and he knew it. Whoever the masked man was, he was clearly possessed by a god. A pissed off god. Only one god was angry with him. "Yu Yevon." He muttered as the man swung his morning star and mace combination through a figure eight.
"Indeed. Oh, I believe I owe you for that little trick of yours." Matt smirked.
"I beat you once before. I'll beat you again." The insane over-god laughed.
"You beat me with the help of Vena's brat." Yu Yevon corrected as he launched a holy spell at Matt. Matt never flinched as the spell bounced off his shield, never too his eyes off of Yu Yevon. "This time you're all alone. What can you do under these odds, I wonder?' A bolt of lightning sent Yevon flying across the large room and nearly through the wall.
"How about 'Kick your ass' for starters?" Yevon laughed as he brushed some debris off of his cloak.
"You're certainly an energetic one, aren't you? What, with all the thunder bolts and all." Matt rolled his eyes and barely rolled to the side of a fire spell. His shield of thunder flared into existence while he was still turning, and he nearly slipped on a shattered icicle. "Of course, no matter how hard you struggle you simply won't be able to win. Besides, do you honestly think you can kill the me here, now, without all the gods?"
"I suppose not." Matt admitted. "But I can still take option B: Kick your ass so badly you'll wish you were dead." Yevon laughed.
"Don't be so stupid. Your lightning bolt didn't hurt me at all. Neither did the impact for that matter." Matt sneered at the god but said nothing. "Yes, it took a long time to find a body that I could use for more then a few days. You know, one that could hold all of my power without becoming useless in a few days. Imagine my surprise to find it in your world."
Fear flooded through Matt at the comment. 'He can go to earth? Then that means that there are more portals then this one! He was on the Farplane. There has to be more!'
"Yes, finding a way to your world was difficult to do from the Farplane. But it is possible. Perhaps someone else has found it by now. I know not, and I care not. When I've killed all the gods' heirs, I'll go and take over that world as well as this one! I'll rule two worlds with an iron fist, and burn anything, anyone that stands against me! The armies of both worlds combined won't be able to stand against me for more then a few seconds!"
Yevon started to laugh but quickly stopped. Lightning arced around Matt, shielding him completely from view. "Yevon, that's never going to happen. Because you'll never kill us, we'll beat you every time. Know why?" The lightning spread until Yevon was completely surrounded by it. "Because no matter how powerful you become we'll kick your ass back to the Farplane. Every time, without fail. Because that's our job, to stop you."
"You've never even had a real job. The closest thing you've ever had was hunting down all those fiends I sent to distract you."
'Distract us? What would he need to distract us from?' Matt didn't have time to wonder any more then that. An Ultima spell barely missed hitting him in the face, but he didn't miss. Yevon's screams of pain quickly turned to laughter despite being caught in a building that had Matt's electricity running through it. A wall of gray flames surrounded the insane god, and Matt's heart dropped. 'Damn, he's the non-elemental god. Guess it makes sense, that was all that was left.'
The flames shot past Matt, surrounded him. They swatted him one-way then another until he could barely concentrate enough to keep his own shield up. Suddenly the flames disappeared. Yu Yevon's mace took their place, slamming into Matt's chest with strength greater then Auron's. The air rushed out of Matt's lungs but he grabbed the wood behind the weapon's head and squeezed. The ice-cold wood shattered, and the freezing in his hand was washed away by the blood flowing out of the cuts the shattering weapon had made.
"Damn you to the Farplane!" Yevon shouted as he swung at Matt with his morning star. This time Matt was ready. He threw his wounded arm up in front of his face, and he held the morning star away from his face. With his remaining hand, his right hand, he lifted Lightning Edge and slammed it down on the handle as hard as he could. Just as he felt resistance he snapped his head as far to the left as he could, barely getting it out of the way before the heavy metal had slammed into the ground.
"No, Yevon, damn you to the Farplane!" Matt kicked up with both his legs and Yevon went flying over his head. Matt was on his feet instantly, but Yevon was already on him, weapons made completely out of his gray fire smashing away at Matt's defenses. 'You wanna have an endurance contest, fine.' Matt thought grimly as his axe batted aside attacks at almost blinding speeds. Each time the weapons connected Yevon received a bolt of electricity while Matt was hammered by raw, non-elemental power. On and on the battle went, well beyond either fighters' physical limits. Both were drained of any magic, and the battle had begun to turn into a blood bath when Matt tripped.
"Mine!" Yevon grabbed the handle of one of his busted weapons and dove for Matt's throat. The thunder god tried to move, to roll out of the way or stand up, but couldn't.
He'd reached his absolute limit. It hadn't been enough.
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Lusniec looked at him like he was insane. "What are you thanking me for?" Ryan looked up at Lusniec who took a startled step back and then slashed down with his sword. Ryan watched the cursed sword's path, but never moved to defend where he thought it would land. At the last second he pushed off the ground as hard as he could. In mid-swing Lusniec was too dedicated to his attack to move at all, and watched with an odd satisfaction as Wind Cutter ran him through. As the two tumbled to the ground he laughed, "Yes. Those eyes, so cold and remorseless. Those eyes, just now! Those were the eyes I was looking for. And look at this!" He pulled Wind Cutter out and held it in front of him. "You even managed to land a blow. Hell, if I was alive, that may have proven as fatal as all of your wounds will." He threw Wind Cutter down to Ryan who made no move to catch it. "But showing some hope now is just too little too late. Good-bye, Ryan. It was fun while it lasted."
"Ryan-san!" Sakura yelled as she slammed into Lusniec. "Rikku-san, Yuna-san, Paine-san! Now!" The three ran over and gently lifted Ryan off the ground.
"Move, woman!" Lusniec hissed as he grabbed her by the hair and pulled. She let go, but instead of falling to the ground she spun in mid-air and kicked Lusniec's hand so hard that he dropped her. "Who are you, you little wench!" a Tonfa slammed into his face and Lusniec staggered back. He reached up and touched his jaw, and when he pulled his hand away there was blood on his fingertips.
"Well, come on Lusniec." Sakura said as she twirled her Tonfas. "I've seen you fight several times. I'm going to kick your ass."
'Several times? Is this bitch crazy?' Lusniec looked back down at his fingertips. 'Perhaps, but even so she's hurt me as badly as Ryan did.' A smile spread across Lusniec's face and he looked Sakura over intently. "I don't know who you are, wench, but you're pretty good. I'm not usually taken by surprise under any circumstances."
"Shut up and fight you father fucker." A wave of anger washed over Lusniec.
"If you're so quick to die, then I'll gladly send you to the Farplane!" Demon Edge flashed out, hit one of Sakura's Tonfas, and stopped. "What!"
Sakura's second Tonfa smashed into Lusniec's hand so hard bones snapped. "Is that it?" She asked mockingly. Lusniec replied with a Wind Cutter that slammed into the young woman, but the thin barrier of us in between her and the wind took the brunt of the assault. Lusniec's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and amazement as he watched the crystal barrier shatter and melt after the attack had vanished.
"You're the goddess of ice? Well, that would explain a few things." He snapped his hand back into place and sent just enough healing magic to repair it into his hand. "I'm honored, my lady." He said mockingly. "Tell me, why is it that you are defending Ryan when he is supposed to defend you?"
"I've got no idea what you're talking about, and frankly I don't care. I'm protecting Ryan-san because he's my friend, just like Nick-san went to help Matt-san. I'd protect any of them; I'd even protect Yuna-san, Rikku-san, and Paine-san. Especially from a scumbag like you."
"Brave words." Demon Edge rested against her exposed throat. "You know, Ryan is one of the few people to ever beat me. I've killed for a living for thousands of years, girl. Do you honestly think you can beat me?" Sakura did half a front flip. She'd have done an entire on but her foot had caught Lusniec in-between the legs and he collapsed in pain. "You bitch! Die!" He yelled as he grabbed her leg and raised Demon Edge.
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Blood sprayed over Matt despite the fact that he hadn't been hurt. He opened his eyes and found a spearhead sticking through Yu Yevon's hand, which was directly over Matt's face. The spear ripped itself out and then the other side of Nick's hockey stick flew down. Yu Yevon spun out of the way and Matt nearly lost the ability to have kids.
"Geez, watch it!"
"Later." Nick replied as he jumped away from Matt. A wave of fire flew over the prone thunder god, and the snow underneath him began to melt. "Rikku, Yuna, Paine, any time now!" Nick muttered as he fired a few rounds at the masked man. Matt felt three sets of hands grab him by the arms and begin to drag him away.
'Nick, don't you dare die you little shit.' Matt thought as the world drifted into a restful darkness.
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'This girl is good.' Lusniec thought as he ducked under a kick only to find a Tonfa in his face when he stood back up. The pattern had been continuing for quite some time, and Lusniec was starting to feel light headed. 'Damn you, Ryan. You just had to get in one hit, didn't you?' He glanced down at the right side of kimono, which was now completely soaked through with blood from just above the waist down. The pain was gone, now it was the numbness that crept across his body that was beginning to worry him. 'Damn it all.' He knew he had to leave. The numbness was spreading too quickly, and soon it'd reach his hands and feet. That'd be the end of the fight.
Sakura dropped down and tried to sweep Lusniec's feet out from under him, but he jumped over the attack. She rolled away from him as Demon Edge came down at her head. When she stopped her roll she found herself facing empty air rather than an insane swordsman. 'What on earth?' she whipped her head around and spotted him behind her. "No way." She whispered in disbelief. He was flying away from the mountain! "Get back here!"
"Sakura, we don't have time to worry about him! Go help Nick!" Yuna yelled as she, Rikku, and Paine pulled a sleeping Matt away from the ruins. Sakura nodded and sprinted toward the ruins.
'Nick-san, don't you dare die.' She thought as she sprinted past the area with an empty pedestal. She rounded a corner and found herself looking eye-to-chest with the masked man. Instinct took over and she lowered her shoulder. The man spun to the side and Sakura felt his cloak against her face. A pair of surprised cries a few seconds later caused Sakura to spin around. "What!" She gasped in surprise as the man cleared the distance between the ruins and the edge of the cliff, several hundred feet, in a few seconds and then jumped off the cliff. Almost immediately a red and white blur with giant black wings shot up and caught one of his hands, and the two flew off.
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Nick found himself barely able to find the man he was fighting. They'd traded blows for awhile, but the reach of Nick's weapon, combined with the fact that Matt had broken the man's weapons made the stand up fight one sided. And the masked man wasn't using magic anymore, either. He'd only launched a pair of fire spells at Nick, one of which had burned Nick's right leg, and the other which had simply passed over Matt before his friends had been able to pull him away.
"Nick-san?" Sakura asked, once again reverting to Japanese. "The masked man got away." Nick relaxed.
"You're sure?" Sakura nodded.
"Come on, Ryan-san is in bad shape. Rikku-san, Yuna-san, and Paine-san are waiting for us." Nick turned and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight behind Sakura. "Nick-san, something wrong?"
"Geez, they've got their own airship!" Nick pointed behind Sakura and she looked back. The two saw Yuna waving for them to hurry and took off towards the giant ship.
ok, i've got a few things to say before you review. first, i know that there aren't supposed to be any sphere comm things yet, but i'll explain that next chapter, so don't worry. as for the FFX cast not recognizing ryan and matt, if you don't understand it'll be explained in more detail next chapter, so don't worry about it either. ok, other then that i've just got to say READ AND REVEIW! cya next time, and until then, don't do nothin stupid without me!
